Donald
Malcolm
Campbell was born on March 23, 1921 in Horley, Surrey. He was a
British car and motorboat driver who broke many speed records. Campbell was
the son of Sir
Malcolm Campbell. Following his father's career, he strove to set speed
records on land
and water. He was though a different character, much less formal in his
approach, though in his own way equally determined, no doubt spurred on by
his lavish lifestyle and all that entails.

Probably
more importantly, Donald was a visionary. He went from a propeller driven
boat and wheel driven car, to ground breaking jet power, but not just jet
power, gas turbine technology that was used in designs that were themselves
revolutionary, thanks to his brilliant design team, the credit for which
cannot be understated. That said, without DC at
the helm to think big, it would never have happened, and without Sir Malcolm
having set Donald up for a flying start, Donald could not have managed the
double record on land and water in the same year. Anyone starting from
scratch (as in no speed record experience) simply would not have the time to
develop two vehicles in one lifetime - unless money was no object. But,
money is always the issue.

Donald
inherited Sir Malcolm's taste for adventure, plus of course a
Bluebird boat to start him on the trail to a LSR and WSR career, purchased
for a nominal fee, after Sir Malcolm passed away in 1948. More
importantly, he learned how to do it from his father and realized that he
could do it too. The K4 was
already converted from propeller drive to jet engine before the death of his
father, but Major Halford from de
Havilland was disinclined to to see Donald use it because of his
inexperience. Accordingly, he asked for it to be returned. Hence
Vospers were asked to convert it back to propeller drive, which pleased Leo
Villa as much as it must have infuriated Donald. All that remained was to fit the
Rolls Royce engine, then on
10th August, Donald made four runs and later in the week experienced a scary
moment or two but nevertheless did not let up on the throttle - something
that was in the end to be his undoing.

Donald Campbe

ll
was a keen pilot, a skill that would later come in handy when scouting for
suitable land and water speed venues.

Donald Campbell at home and doing his thing

Reid Railton
brought it to the attention of the team that Stanley Sayers' boat used a
special propeller that enabled the craft to lift out of the water - a prop
rider. Reid Railton had seen K4 in action and noticed it rise at the rear,
causing the nose to point down into the water. After this Donald
wanted to convert the boat to a full-blown prop rider. Lewis and Ken Norris
were commissioned to do the design work. The engine was moved forward
to alter the centre of gravity, and the seat was relocated on the port side.
A new propeller was also specified.

During this
conversion Donald was invited to enter the Oltranza Cup, an Italian
event. The race took part on Lake Garda. This was four laps over a
5-mile triangular course; with the quickest driver winning the Grand Prix for the
fastest overall speed and the Oltranza cup going to the boat that set the
fastest time over two consecutive laps.

Finally
freed of all parental restrictions, Donald
got to work honing his skills as a water speed
record contender. It must have seemed like business as usual to Leo
Villa.

The race took
place on the 10th of June after being delayed due to bad weather.
After failing to start the engine, they were forced to change all 24 spark
plugs. Because of this they had no chance of winning the Grand
Prix. They could however still win the Oltranza cup. Leo Villa
accompanied Donald for a rather exciting ride. The K4 took a bit of a
pounding smashing many instruments, and the ride was sufficient to draw a
few choice words from Leo as to Donald's performance. However they won
the Oltranza cup by a convincing margin. This win did wonders for
Donald's recognition for his skills as a driver. So began Donald's
career in fast boats.

Donald suffered
a 156Mph (250 kmh) crash in 1951 in the process destroying the K4. As a result of this crash he developed a
completely new boat, the Bluebird K7 - or Blue Lobster. This was a jet-propelled
hydroplane type with a Metropolitan-Vickers Beryl jet engine
producing 4000 lbf (18 kN) of thrust. Campbell set seven world water-speed
records between 1955 and 1964. The first was at Lake Ullswater on July 23,
1955, where he set a record of 203 mph (325 km/h). The series of increases
peaked in December 31, 1964 at Dumbleyung
Lake, Western Australia when he reached 276.33 mph.

The
K7 was to prove a formidable steed that
saw him set 7 World Water-Speed records between 1955 and 1964, and build a
career. The
first was at Lake Ullswater where he set a record of 202Mph. This was raised
to 216mph at Lake Mead in 1955. Then began a sequence of record
raising runs at Coniston where he attained 248mph in 1958. But to
really push out the boat record wise he went to Lake Dumbleyung, Australia,
where the K7 set a new world records of 276mph in 1964.

Donald
at Coniston and with his famous cigar signature at Lake Bonney in Australia

On
land, following a heavy crash at Bonneville with theBluebird CN7 car in 1960, on July 17, 1964, at Lake
Eyre, Australia, he set a record of 403.10 mph for jet propelled
four-wheeled vehicles (Class A). He became the first person to set both
water and land records in the same year. But his land record was
short-lived, because rule changes meant that Craig
Breedlove's Spirit of America soon set new records that left
wheel driven speeds in the dust.

Three
years later, on January 4, 1967, Donald was killed when the re-engined Bluebird
K7 flipped and disintegrated at a speed in excess of 300 mph on Coniston
Water in England. The cause of the crash has been variously attributed
to Campbell not waiting to refuel after doing a first run of 297 mph, and
hence the boat being lighter; the waves caused by his wash; and,
potentially, a cut-out of the jet engine.

Whatever
the cause, the craft lifted gracefully at the front, the leading edges
of the vessel having induced a turning moment that the forward jet
thrust could no longer contain. Equilibrium so disturbed, there were no
control surfaces to effect recovery. Having survived two high speed
crashes previously, one might imagine the flicker of thought going
through Donald's mind, where he imagined hospitalization as the
consequence, rather than wipeout.

The
wreckage of his craft and the body of Campbell were not recovered until May
28, 2001 when diver Bill Smith was inspired to look for the wreck after
hearing the Marillion song "Out Of This World" (from the album Afraid
of Sunlight), which was written about Campbell and the Bluebird. The
body of Campbell was recovered soon after and was laid to rest in Coniston
cemetery.

Donald's
career spanned 18 years and finally end
in tragedy on Lake Coniston, where he was trying to best his own record to
drum up sponsor interest. This tragedy was later made into a film
to commemorate the great man starring the superb Anthony Hopkins as Donald Campbell,
named 'Across the Lake'. Unfortunately for many enthusiastic about the
BBC docudrama, the film is not on general release - although we receive
regular enquiries about it, and you can now get a copy of unknown quality
from another source. Between them, Donald and his father had
set eleven speed records on water and ten on land. Gina
Campbell, Donald's daughter, also flipped a water speed boat before
setting the record as fastest woman on water and calling a halt.

Donald
Campbell was the last of this bloodline to challenge and take the outright
Land and Water speed records. It takes a special kind of man to look at
the world of speed and take on the two most difficult records head on. He
didn't consider anything less than the world records, setting that as his
goals and not deviating. These were his own projects. He didn't showboat
for any other sideshows where he was not the driving force, for that would
have lessened his own achievements.

Part
of his secret was staying with a good design partnership and playing with
a relatively straight bat in his business dealings, even where sponsorship was
tight, and he did fall foul of temptation in not paying at least one
supplier on a pretext - something even Sir Malcolm did with Rolls Royce,
arguing that their engine was not powerful enough.
It would be fair to say that without Ken Norris (the brothers) and their
wonderful designs, and Leo Villa the practical engineer, Donald may not
have achieved all that he did. Solid core teamwork is what kept the ball
rolling.

LEFT
- Oil painting depicting Ken Norris working on the Bluebird CN7. RIGHT -
Leo
Villa, DC and Donald Stevens doing it for real

DONALD
STEVENS ON DC

The Kent engineer who worked with the legendary Donald Campbell on the Bluebird project has written his story of individual courage and record-breaking British engineering.

Donald Stevens, 75, from Sissinghurst, worked with the sporting hero who became the only man to smash land and water speed records in the same year. Both car and boat were called Bluebird.

Mr Stevens has a picture of the car with the inscription: "To Donald Stevens in appreciation of his help in this venture. Signed Donald Campbell, 1959."

The two men were often together professionally and socially, with worldly-wise Campbell taking the innocent young engineer to London nightclubs.

Mr Stevens remembers calling at Campbell's home near Gatwick and being driven around the country in his Bentley Continental.
"He lived the high life like heck," he recalls.

But the man brought up in a Cockney family of 15 says Campbell was an imperious figure.
"He always called me Stevens, never Donald."

Mr Stevens blames Campbell for causing his own downfall by making a second run before the wash of the previous one had calmed down.

For the past few years, Mr Stevens has been writing a book about the experience and Bluebird CN7 - The Inside Story comes out this month.

He said: "The intention behind this book is to right a great omission in the history of land-speed record breaking, and to pay respect to the dedication of two men in particular, Ken and Lew Morris, whose contribution to the image of British engineering has never been officially recognised."

In his foreword, Wing Commander Andy Green writes: "The CN7 was quite literally 50 years ahead of its time.
"It is perhaps ironic that the Norris brothers looked ahead to a supersonic rocket car, the CN8.

"Fifty years later, we are building such a car, the Bloodhound SSC, with the aim of inspiring a new generation of engineers and scientists in Britain to follow in the footsteps of Donald Stevens and the
Norris brothers."

Bluebird CN7 - The Inside Story, is published by Veloce. Mr Stevens will be signing copies, including a 30-minute DVD, at The Bell, Benenden, on Saturday May 29 from 11am - 4pm.
Signed copies are also available from Donald Stevens, Brindles, Golford, Cranbrook, TN17 3PA. Price £29, plus £5 p&p.

HISTORY

Date
and Place of Birth: 23rd March 1921,
Povey Cross, Horley, Surrey, England.

Family
Background: Son of Sir Malcolm
Campbell, Land speed record holder.

Education:
School at Horsham, then St. Peter's School, Seaford, then to Uppingham
Public School, Rutland. (The same as his father).

1930's:
His first job was as a junior office boy with Alexander Howden and
Company, insurance brokers in London.

1939-45:
During the period of the Second World War he was turned down as a fighter
pilot because of contracting Rheumatic fever when he was younger. Not
wanting to join the R.A.F. in a non-flying capacity, he worked for two
civilian firms. One making defence equipment for airfields and another
making aircraft spares.

1955:
23rd July Ullswater, Cumbria, England. Donald Campbell was the first to
complete an officially timed run in a jet-propelled hydroplane (K7) of
202.32 m.p.h.

1960:
Crashed in Utah, USA after attempting the land speed record from which he
had to spend a long convalescent period.

1964:
July 17th: Achieved 403.1 m.p.h. in a jet propelled car at Lake Eyre Salt
Flats in Australia. December 31st: Set a water speed record of 276.33 at
Durnbleyung Lake in Australia. Thus becoming the only man to achieve land
and water speed records in the same year.

1967:
(4th January) Achieved a run of 297 m.p.h. on his first leg at Coniston
Water, Cumbria and was travelling at over 300 m.p.h. on the return leg
when his boat Bluebird flipped over backwards and he crashed to his death.
Many theories were advanced as to why he had started too quickly on his
return leg but it is clear that the waves on the lake unsettled the boat.
Ideas that he had committed suicide were quickly discounted by his family.

(2001):
A Diving team from Northumberland finally retrieved Bluebird and later the
remains of Donald Campbell so that he could be given a proper burial.

Father
and son pictured with a early Bluebird LSR vehicle (left) and getting a
taste for boating (right), young Donald visibly
inspired by his famous father, as you may imagine from the goggles he is
wearing - carried on with his love of helmets, and support from Tonia
Bern and much of Australia,
where he was better received.

The
XK120 Jaguar in yet another shade of blue. Donald would have loved this car,
but not quite as much as the E-Type which was so much more advanced with
wishbone suspension all round. Still, you can't beat a set of wire wheels
for that classic style.

Donald's
Jaguar E Type with the registration number DC7. Donald had a taste for
the high life - he was truly a jet-setter, with his own car and boat to
prove it. He almost became a rocket man, before David
Bowie immortalized the phrase.

Speed
king Donald Campbell, got it all together to take the outright land and
water speed records in the same year.

AUSTRALIAN
PHOTO HAUL - DAILY RECORD 5 JULY 2014

EXCLUSIVE behind-the-scenes photos of preparations for the speed king's 403.1mph drive on Australian salt flats that are previously unseen have been discovered Down Under.

AMAZING photos of Donald Campbell’s Australian land speed record attempt have emerged this week from Down Under.

They have been released exclusively to the Daily Record. Despite living in England, Campbell always considered himself a proud Scot.

The photos have been collated by Australian Paul Houghton, who is particularly interested in the 50th anniversary of the water speed record that comes at the end of this year.

His detective work, however, has uncovered previously unseen pictures of the land speed record that Campbell set on July 17, 1964. That year’s double has never been equalled.

Snapped by photographers John Bullivant and John Workman, they show some of the work that went on around the record and Campbell’s later victory parade. Campbell broke the land speed record at 403.1mph but according to his widow
Tonia, he wanted to go much faster.

However, rain had made the salt flats at Lake Eyre in South Australia heavy and it acted like a brake on Bluebird so that Campbell had to be satisfied with just over 400mph.

The water speed record was broken by him at Lake Dumbleyung in Western Australia on Hogmanay in 1964. His Bluebird boat reached 276.3mph after the team had spent days sitting around playing cards and waiting for the wind to drop and the lake waters to calm.

The
137mph electric machine raced by Don Wales, after it crashed at Pendine
Sands around August of 2011 with Joe
Wales at the wheel. BMS Ltd were not
involved in this project, and this vehicle was not designed for the patentBluebird™ battery
exchange system. Nor is any team other than the BE3, licensed to use our
blue
coloured bird trademark
for land speed record attempts. Please also not that the current (@ July
2014) British electric land speed record holder is Lord
Drayson at 204 mph.

He now has a model he believes will reach 500mph and that the same technology will be available for road, race and record-breaking cars.

Don Wales is quoted as saying of his uncle:

“He was sensitive to the danger and openly admitted he was scared by it. I have great respect for the heroism of the man in that respect. He conquered his fears to step into a car and a boat he knew could
kill him at any moment.”

There
is no comparison between the world class caliber of the spectacular CN7
when weighed against the recent vehicles produced by descendent family
members. Both Sir Malcolm and Donald Campbell did things in style. Tough
acts to follow.

We
doubt that Donald Campbell "knew" that either the CN7 or K7
would kill him, with all the precautions that Ken and Lewis Norris
built into the design, and with all the practical guidance from Leo
Villa as to the safety cages, etc. It is a sobering thought that
almost any motorised transport is capable of killing its driver at any
time, even while just driving home from work. There is no need to bandy
that thought about to drum up trade. The courage is perhaps more in
beginning a world class project, knowing the commitment that such endeavor
will need. Donald is said to have believed that he never quite matched up
to his father, and indeed, Malcolm had virtually said as much with his
will.

We
wonder if the basis for Donald's nephew, apparently believing that his newest car is capable of such
astonishing reported speeds is more accurate in this assessment, than his
view that the
first car he put on the sand at Pendine
in 1998 was capable of taking the WLSR? We would welcome clarification on
this point, perhaps with sight of some calculations based on a tangible
vehicle specification. Is there a vehicle design study, or is it
guesswork? And is that 500mph across a flying mile, or a terminal
velocity, if you'll pardon the pun. Donald Campbell always insisted on the
flying mile like his father, leaving his backers in no doubt as to
performance promise, backed up by reams of studies put together by first Reid
Railton and then Ken Norris.

It
will come as no surprise to many that no member of the Campbell
family has stepped into the breach to take on the outright land
and water speed records following Gina
Campbell's boat flip - a déjà vu
incident. The tradition set by Malcolm Campbell,
and carried on by his son Donald over 30+ glorious years may stop there.
Consider also that that was land and water speed records, with projects
running side by side and overlapping, a feat that may never be equaled.

The
void is now a hollow 47 years and counting, especially on the water speed
front, but with the competition still rife in the capable hands of the Bloodhound
and Quicksilver teams - who
would no doubt relish a challenger in the spirit of HenrySegrave and John
Cobb. It is though never too late to join the party.

. Arguably
Donald won this argument, because the CN7 was a bit longer than the Spirit
of America. That said, the SOA was faster and with Jet and Rocket powered
cars going faster and faster, this led Donald to begin developing his CN8
LSR project.

July
2014 is the 50th anniversary of
Donald
Campbell's world water and land speed record
double. An achievement that has not been equaled since.

Tonia
Bern-Campbell, Donald Campbell's striking widow is
seen here in 2014 with Don Wales in July of 2014, both in attendance for the 50th
Anniversary of Donald Campbell's truly legendary world water and land
speed record double in the same year: 1964. Such an achievement is unlikely to
be equaled by any person in the WSR/LSR arena - and that includes any
surviving member of the Campbell family, meaning that Tonia's memories will
remain undisturbed.

This
is a model of the rocket powered CMN8 Bluebird that was never to
be, but was very much on the cards. The CMN8 was a very clean design that shares rear wheel features with other vehicles.
The land missile was mocked up full size and kept on Donald's drive for a
while. Who knows, one day there may be a JW9 rocket/jet powered car -
perhaps after a few more haggis and the sound of the bagpipes to a full
moonlit night.

Marriage:

1.
1945 to Daphne Harvey, Caxton Hall Registry Office, London under special
Licence as Daphne's parents

The
blue bird
legend lives on. The
classic lines of the stunning BE3 electric racing
car were inspired
by Reid Railton and his designs for the
Napier Lion and
Rolls Royce
engined Blue Bird LSR cars in the 1930s. The Blueplanet BE3
features instant battery recharging using the patent
Bluebird™ cartridge exchange system under license from BMS.
This high performance WLSR car is also solar assisted. She is designed for speeds in excess of
350mph across a flying mile using clean electricity. It is unlikely that a
member of the Campbell family will pilot her for a perceived lack of
experience. Fortunately, there are many first-rate Formula 1
and Formula E drivers with competition honed skills. Imagine the spectacle of this beautiful
vehicle speeding across the salt at Bonneville,
or flying past on the sand at the Daytona
or Pendine
beaches. The BE3 is available for event
hire, drive-by and the like on 6
months notice, or 3 months notice at an increased cost.